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Professor weighs in on isis

This still photo from the chilling execution video shows the victims in the last moments of their lives.

MCCC held a discussion panel on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria last semester, but the conversation on ISIS is not finished.

Dr. Joanna Sabo, professor of political science and leader of last semester’s panel, said ISIS’s recruitment methods have become more persistent.


Full student coverage of the ISIS panel


“Recruiters for ISIS are using social media, and now it’s pervasive. They are recruiting in the U.S.,” Sabo said.

Since the panel, ISIS has not been stopped and the broadcasting of their violence has grown more brutal.

“We don’t see what they’re doing at all times, but their advertisements of brutality are increasing, which is very frightening,”Sabo said.

ISIS recruiters are looking for people who want power, and want to be a part of something.

“They are looking for people who are marginalized, or don’t fit in anywhere and are looking to be a part of something bigger than themselves,” Sabo said.

Earlier this month, ISIS released videos of two executions. The video footage was the most brutal form of torture that has been released thus far.

In one video, a Jordanian pilot, Moaz al-Kasabeh, who was taken captive by ISIS in late December, is shown being burned alive. The video of his execution shows al-Kasabeh standing in a metal barred cage wearing an orange jump suit, drenched in fuel. A masked ISIS member then set a fire the trail of fuel that led to the cage holding al-Kasabeh.

The graphic video shows all footage of the final moments of the Jordanian pilot’s life.

In response, Jordan executed Sajida al-Rishawi, who was jailed after an attempted suicide bombing, and a lieutenant of Al Queda, Ziad alKarbouli.

In another video, 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian men were lined up on their knees with ISIS members in all black clothing and face masks standing behind them. The executions took place on a beach in Libya. The five-minute video shows the graphic beheadings of the 21 men. The bodies were left behind on the beach. At the end of the video, an English-speaking ISIS member says

“The sea you have hidden Sheikh Osama bin Laden’s body in, we swear to Allah, we will mix it with your blood.”

“What’s bothersome to me is that at one point  U.S. intelligence believed they had identified the one black-suited ISIS assassin by using voice identification software, but in the Egyptian beheading video there are 21 men in black suits. That makes this more difficult,” Sabo said.

With the brutality of ISIS on the rise, there is no telling where they will draw the line, or how they can be stopped. Sabo commented on potential plans for joint action.

“What’s interesting is now there are Egyptian and Jordanian leaders interested in discussing this,” she said.

The potential plans are crossing normal ally patterns.

“We are going to see leaders who wouldn’t normally discuss being involved in the same activity come together against ISIS,” Sabo said.